IPO PROVIDES TMP CHIEF WITH MORE FUEL FOR GROWTH: EVEN BEFORE $80.5 MIL BOOST, MCKELVEY HAD THE TOP AD SHOP FOR YELLOW PAGES

Though his company made its $80.5 million initial public offering on a chilly Friday the 13th last month, TMP Worldwide President and Chairman Andy McKelvey doesn't seem to be superstitious about his company's-or his own-continued success in advertising.

30 YEARS IN THE MAKING

With an 80% stake in the newly public agency, specializing in Yellow Pages and recruitment ads, the 62-year-old executive still plans an aggressive growth strategy for the company he founded in 1967 and helped build into a major player over the past 30 years.

In a market where only 15% of the $10 billion Yellow Pages' advertising segment is handled through agencies, New York-based TMP claims in its prospectus responsibility for 30% of the Yellow Pages business handled by agencies in the U.S. based on gross billings, with its closest competitor handling only about 10% of that market.

The IPO comes on the heels of four years of aggressive acquisitions and investment in 34 different properties, a strategy TMP will continue during 1997, according to its prospectus.

RECRUITMENT GROWING

While Yellow Pages business has been the company's mainstay, recruitment is swiftly becoming another major sector for the company. TMP began investing in that market in 1993, and two years later had a 7% share of the market.

Just last month, TMP was finalizing a deal to acquire two small recruitment ad agencies for $5 million. In the past four years, it has snapped up recruitment shops like Australia's Neville Jeffress for $25 million, but it also continued to invest in Yellow Pages companies including Dallas-based GTE Directories Corp.'s Yellow Pages business and assets from U S West's Marketing Resources Group.

The first priority following the IPO is repayment of $114.3 million in debts; once debts are handled the company will be eligible to borrow $48 million to finance further growth through acquisitions.

ON THE INTERNET

TMP also plans to further develop the breadth and brand strength of its Internet-based products for both recruitment and Yellow Pages clients. Over the past year the company has begun offering clients a technology called Dealer Locator, which can be used by major companies that want to list and index multiple store locations online. And in 1995, it acquired Monster Board, a gigantic help-wanted classifieds site.

According to Securities & Exchange Commission papers filed in September, TMP reported net income of $3.2 million for 1995, with gross billings of $596.1 million, including $123.9 million in commissions and fees. The agency reported a net loss of $2.5 million for 1994 and gross billings of $418.5 million, $86.2 million in commissions and fees. Operating income was $18.9 million in 1995 and $6.8 million in 1994.